The BGN News Archive

October 13, 2018

Brix'n Mortar
Photo: Blowfish

Tuesday’s show at O’Brien’s was mostly hardcore
with a band from Singapore heading the bill. Crisis Actors
from Boston were a trio doing everything with passion. The drummer was so into
it that at the end of some songs he was on his feet like he couldn’t contain
himself sitting down anymore. His sticks were flying around so much it was like
a cartoon picture of a drummer, but the sound wasn’t cartoonish. Listen
to the drums explode a few times in “Billy
the Terrorist”

Crisis Actors
Photo: Blowfish

The guitarist was supplying a usual distorted back drop. The bassist however
was doing things more interesting. Sometimes he was on the root digging in but
more often he had some melodic runs not heard in music with such a hard attack.
He was very fluid and effective. It lifted everything else and made everything
click. Interesting set. Their Bandcamp
site

We think their song “Everyone’s
Exhausted” captures the rat race world we hear people complaining
about with lyrics like, ”Is it day or is it night, Or is it 9-5 until
I'm 95?”

Orion
Photo: Blowfish

Orion is from Australia. They're in the electronic goth vein.
The keyboard player had a Roland that was no more than a yard long but sounded
huge, they had a drum machine for the beats. They made O’Brien’s
feel like a large dance hall. They sounded a lot like Bauhaus. If you were in
that mood is was very good. Check their sound at their Bandcamp
page.

Sial
Photo: Blowfish

Online Sial sounded like they would be crazy live
and they were. They didn’t say much and the set was short but
they made their point real quick. They looked like they just walked
in off the street; there was no pretense in their appearance or attitude.
It was all a razor focus on ripping up the place for twenty minutes.
The lead singer was riveting. She was small in stature but had a presence
that knew no bounds. We think you can see that in the photos. They say
Sial sings in the language of Singapore's indigenous minority. It didn’t
matter what language the words were in the hardcore shred was easy to
translate. Just imagine being there when this starts up… Bandcamp

Another sign that punk is healthy all over the world.

It was back to O’Brien’s on Friday for a hardcore
heavy night again. There was an acoustic opener called RoofTops
and even he was hard hitting. We wish we had seen more. We’re not big
on the acoustic thing but this guy made a quick impression with some seriously
sharp lyrics. Then it was four good bands to lose your hearing to.

Secret Spirit
Photo: Blowfish

Secret Spirit came from Manchester, NH and you know there’s
no bullshit there with hardcore, you got to be good. A lot of hardcore hits
you with a blunt hammer but Secret Spirit were at you with something sharper.
You could hear the chord sequences and change ups clearly while they still slammed
hard.

The lead singer was doing the screamo thing and it seemed as hard as things
could get, but no, they switched the singer and guitar player and the second
singer was even more in your face. At the beginning he was moshing as much as
singing. After a few songs he seemed washed out. How could he not be? Then it
was back to the original singer with a newly renewed energy. And this was the
opening act? You could have seen them and gone home satisfied and deaf. They
have a nice lullaby on Bandcamp called “Motherfucker”.

The Kreutzer Sonata
Photo: Blowfish

That was a hard act to follow but then there was The Kreutzer
Sonata from Chicago. That is an odd name for a hardcore group.
It’s the name of a Beethoven
piece or a Tolstoy novel. They say,“The work is an argument
for the ideal of sexual abstinence.” If you say so!?

It didn’t seem like Kreutzer were trying to play music; it was more like
they were trying to contain some supernatural beast that was on the
verge of bursting into our dimension. It was barely controlled chaos.
Exciting? Oh ya! You had to gird yourself as each song kicked in.

One guitar crapped out during the set and the other one was smashed against
a pole during the last song. So, good luck to that one too. The songs were blistering
hardcore but the details are a blur to us. Next time we will be up on the songs
before we see them. What a wild set.

DNZL
Photo: Blowfish

Again we are thinking – enough music, time to go home, but DNZL
are next and we love DNZL. DNZL also do hardcore
but add some twists. Mel, the lead singer, engages the audience
between songs. He tells you what the song is about and sets you up for what
to sing when he comes for you and he will. One time he said the chorus would
be “King Kong, King Kong ain’t got shit on me.” That was from
their song “Training Day” which is also the name of a Denzel Washington
movie. As a matter of fact all the songs on their first release were named after
Denzel’s movies – that’s why they call themselves DNZL. See
their Bandcamp

Half of Mel’s time was off the stage and into the depths
of the club. He was singing on people’s shoulders and kneeling on the
floor. Your eyeballs wanted to keep on him but the band was cool too. We’ve
talked about the drummer before and he was even sharper than last time. And
a note here – ALL the drummers on this show were fantastic. They were
all driving these bands with power and intensity.

DNZL
Photo: Blowfish

The guitarist and bass often would double up on a short, fast riff and play
it without variation for as long as a minute while the drummer was playing a
busy rhythm. It’s one of their ‘things’ and it was very effective.
DNZL are getting better and better.

We talked to Mel between sets and he said he lived in a house with members
of the OC45 and Aria from the Coffin
Salesman. What a musical vortex that must have been.

Even after all that music the main reason we went on Friday hadn’t happened
yet. That was Brix’n Mortar; the new band started by
Joey Riot of Chanticlear and Troy from Razors In The
Night. They scooped up a tremendous drummer in Devon Hunt.
We missed their first shows and we were dying to see them.

Brix'n Mortar
Photo: Blowfish

It turns out there is a real collaboration that created a new hybrid. Troy
is more Oi and Joey has a melodic edge and they have found
a way to combine both and that’s pretty great. A common thing they do
is have a verse in the Oi vein and the chorus switch to a melodic line. It works
big time.

Now both of these guys could and have led a group, so together they have a
lot of dynamics on stage. Joey sometimes pogos around the stage as it seems
his pent up excitement is boiling over and Troy jumps (as you can see in the
photo on top of the page) and poses as he digs into his bass. There was sharp
guitar work from Joey Riot all night.

They did a cool cover of “New
Age” by Blitz (video above). But both Troy and Joey know how
to write outstanding songs so we are waiting on an album. Right now
they have a two song demo on their Bandcamp
page.

Well, ya know, it was finally time to call it a night. What a tremendous
hardcore show in little O’Brien’s.

More band photos after the show listings.

John Keegan was up to Salem on Friday at Opus with Diablogato and Petty Morals.
He tells the story and show the photos on his page.
Hit the photo below to go to Keegan's page.

Amyl and the Sniffers are an Australian band that has some buzz.
They played at the Middle East and Mark Davis was there and has a few photos. He said it was a rocking show.

And in other news.....

Tim Warren of Crypt Records has released
two more albums worth of early material from the Real Kids.
There is Crude 1976 Rehearsals + Live 1976/77 and Live 1977/78. They come with
plenty of material to read and look at. One has an essay by Bill Tupper!
Wild!! Add the original huge package of The Real Kids; The Kids 1974 demos/
The Real Kids 1977/78 demos/live and think about how much material has been
added to The Real Kids discography. That gives a fuller picture of them in those
early years. We’re going to go over all those albums closer and report
back after we digest the material.

Brad Marino of The Connection has his own
solo thing going, as it seems every member of that group has. He just released
a single that is a upbeat popping rocker. We have it on our Top
Ten Songs

Here's a first peek at the forthcoming Pop Gun EP: “Stop
the World” single.

The Harvard Archives have moved another step forward with
Arthur Freedman’s Archives. They posted an
update. There is so much material between the audio and visual recordings
– thousands of hours!! The big step is the first release of a Bound
and Gagged
show from 1981. Look at the list of shows and bands on the left side of
the link. It’s a mind boggling array of Boston greats and favorites.

Esquire magazine had an article on the “10
Least Punk Things Ever”. Right at the top was the Sex Pistols Virgin
Credit card and then the Sex Pistols diaper bag. HA!!!!

October 18 (Thursday)Boston Emissions
TEN Party at Once.! 10 years of Boston Emissions with Anngelle
Wood as host. There will be a Boston Emissions broadcast during the
show. Also playing live will be Parlour Bells, Stars Like Ours, Exit
18 and there'll be Photobooth by DWJ Creative. Starts at 7:30PM

October 19 (Friday)Sidewalk Driver,
Watts, Justine and the Unclean at Thunder Road

October 19 (Friday) Halloween Show with
Kid Gulliver, The Knock-Ups, Ski Bunny, Sapling will include
Special Halloween covers and a full cover set with The Knock-Ups doing Siouxsie
and the Banshees. At jeanie Johnston Pub in JP

October 19 (Friday) The FU's
are out in western MA at 13th Floor Music Lounge, Florence, MA

October 19 (Friday) The Legendary
Cazbats, Club Linehan A Go Go at The Lakeside Inn Wakefield.
FB page

October 20 (Saturday) Nervous Eaters,
Indonesian Junk, Duck & Cover at the Middle East Up

October 20 (Saturday) Stop Calling
Me Frank, Crunchtime, The Jiblantos and The Black Souls at The Midway
for a 4PM matinee. Hey everyone this is a John
KeeganBIRTHDAY BASH so come on down!!!

October 20 (Saturday) If We Go At All, Modern Day Idols, Double Star, Powerslut
at The Midway night show

October 20 (Saturday) Kid Widow,
State of the Union, Little Billy Lost, Together on Two at Thirsty First
Lowell, MA

October 21 (Sunday) A Mess Around
at The Plough with Tom Baker, Justine Covault, Jay Allen and
special guests Linda Bean Pardee with a stripped down version
her new project, The Chelsea Curve with partner Tim Gillis
and Steve Prygoda of Cold Expectations. 4-6PM

October 21 (Sunday) Boston Premiere of
the Chet's Last Call Documentary at The Regent Theater
Arlington with live performances byRandy Black and The Heathcroppers,
The Dogmatics, Bim Skala Bim, TBA Allstars - starts at 7PM TIX
etc

October 28 (Sunday)Zipper, The
Instamatics, Larseny, Billy Squire at The Midway for a matinee 4-8 pm show

October 29 & 30 (Mon & Weds) Now here's
how to do Halloween!! At Symphony Hall this Halloween season when Keith Lockhart
and members of the Boston Pops visit The Bates Motel and perform the original
score of the Alfred Hitchcock film, "Psycho", in
sync with the film on the big screen. One of the greatest suspenseful thrillers
of all time, this cinematic masterpiece comes alive with Bernard Herrmann's
spine-tingling score performed live. The unforgettable and disturbing slashing
chords played during the now famous shower scene are just as terrifying now
as they were to first-time audiences in 1960.

November 4 (Sunday) Book release party
for Poetry for the Neon Apocalypse by local Punk Poet Jake
Tringali with Mint Green, Ski Bunny, The Sewer Buddies, Jenn
Lombari, Hyber at The Midway 4-8 PM. FB
page

November 11 (Sunday) Save the date!! Brian
Coleman who has published the much talked aboutBuy Me
Bostonbook will be having a slideshow and panel discussion (including
our very own Paul Blowfish Lovell and David Bieber) to promote the book. It's
at The Brattle Theater - more info as it becomes available.

November 16 (Friday)Justine and
the Unclean, Tad Overbaugh EP Release Party at Sally O'Brien's

November 17 (Saturday)Brian Young's
A Crash Course For The Ravers featuring The Gala!!!
One of our favorite bands!!

November 17 (Saturday) It's HIXXGIVING!!
The joyous return of the annual celebration of white trash culture and redneck
vittles. This year they'll have newcomers - Alice Highland,
New Jersey's Sex Zombies, Your hosts- HIXX
and the formidable Screw Cart. This will, no doubt, be off
the hook! The buffet will be provided by the bands. Hixx asks that you bring
non perishable food items, as always, for a local woman's shelter. At The Midway